UKRAINIAN dancer Sergei Polunin was in his 25th year when he left Britain’s Royal Ballet Company after a brief, incandescent career as its youngest principal male dancer ever.

Steven Cantor’s documentary about him begins with the obstetrician noticing something different about the newborn’s hips. It follows him through early childhood and gymnastic training until, in his eighth year, adoring parents realised that his future lay in ballet.

His father took a job in Portugal to finance his education while his dishy mother accompanied him to London when, in his early teens, he gained entrance to the Royal Ballet School.

Sergei is a beautiful man. It is impossible to watch him in action without remembering Nureyev and Baryshnikov. All three are great and exciting artists. But which of them is the greatest? That’s a nugatory question. Suffice it to say, Sergei’s athleticism is breathtaking, his determination and commitment are more than merely admirable and the complexity of his persona and attitudes toward self and career reflect those qualities

The appeal of “Dancer” extends beyond dance enthusiasts only. It’s a powerful, often poignant portrait that looks behind its off-stage passages for explanation.

The demands of his career essentially tore his family apart. Cocaine and professional unhappiness tore his career apart. Living in Britain for 13 years was not easy for him.

He and dancer Jade Hale-Christofi (a man) have been close friends since the school. The film carries no implication of romantic life involving either sex. Cantor completed it before the news broke earlier this year of a relationship with Natalia Osipova, who chose him to partner her in “Giselle”. Combining personal and professional lives will not be easy but one must be optimistic about these things.